voc ep 60: Sy Ellenhorn

The Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College presents the National Home Front Project, audio recordings of the memories of World War II civilians: men, women, and children whose lives were changed by the greatest global conflict in human history, and whose stories are in danger of being lost.

Sy Ellenhorn (April 4, 1924 - December 20, 2020) was one of the local residents who participated in the project. He told of growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y. and reporting for his draft physical, where the doctors told him, "You can walk, you're in." He became a waist gunner on a B-24 bomber, a plane he described as "a tin can" built as quickly as possible with no concern for crew comfort. (For mentioned artifacts and more interviews visit: www.nationalhomefrontproject.org.)

Sy Ellenhorn with Starr Center StoryQuest students on the day of his Washington College interview.
(L to R) Heide, Sarah, Jackie, James, Sy, Joseph, and Jenna courtesy of www.WashColl.edu.